Watch CNN’s coverage of how Speaker Mike Johnson is handling aid to Ukraine on “Inside Politics Sunday with Manu Raju” at 11 a.m. ET.
Speaker Mike Johnson swiftly derailed the Senate’s bipartisan aid package for Ukraine, but he’s left the door open to a new proposal emerging in the House.
Behind the scenes, Johnson has met privately with House Republicans who have been trying to build support for a new bipartisan foreign aid package that includes restrictions on the US border with Mexico. And now House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul is taking a lead role in trying to finalize a proposal and build consensus within the conference as part of a push for floor action by late March or April.
Johnson has not yet taken a position on the plan or committed to giving it a floor vote, telling his colleagues that they need to finalize government funding legislation first. But once that process is done by mid-March, Republican backers of the plan believe he will let it come to the floor – even it risks backlash from hard-right members or even a vote for his ouster from the speakership.
“More than you think,” Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a leader of the effort, said bluntly when asked about the support the GOP leadership team has given his bipartisan proposal. “We have to get something done.”
Still, getting legislation through the House remains an extremely tall order. Republicans are badly divided over Ukraine, and former President Donald Trump could effectively kill the bill with one social media post. Plus, ample Democratic support would be needed to pass it – a tall order given that the package includes new border restrictions and aid to Israel that would likely prompt a revolt on the left.
With Russia making gains in Ukraine, proponents say action is…
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